60IN60 Day 17 - Wed Mar 19

It's Day 17 and we're in Genesis 15.

Where God Spoke To Me:
- Verse 6 - Having faith in what God says is one of the greatest things we can do to honor Him.

Help:
- Verses 12-13 - This is an unusual sequence.  Apparently God wants to let Abraham know the struggles that are ahead and so this dark incident occurs.
- Verse 16 - "the iniquity. . . is not yet complete" - In other words, they had sinned, but not enough to merit destructive judgment yet by a patient God.  It's an interesting phrase.

If you want to read the chapter online, here's a link.

If you have a question or comment, email me at butcher@ymail.com.

Your Questions:
- "There is action among many Christians to return Jews to Israel. I know God made a covenant with Abraham to give him and his seed these lands. I also know we refer to Jesus and His blood being the new covenant. In Revelation 7 120,000 from the tribes of Israel had the seal of the living God put on their heads. Are these Jews, converted Jews, reference to us being seeds of Abraham? Are both covenants in effect? Why are so many Christians trying to get Jews returned to the Holy Land?" - That's a great question and a very big question.  The short version is that many Biblical scholars see the return of Israel to Canaan as one of the signs that lead up to the return of Christ.  This is why so many were so excited when Israel was formed following World War 2.  It is an open question, however, whether a secular state (which the current nation of Israel is) is what was in mind when the prophecy was spoken.

- "Question 2: In James 5:14-15 is the passage where James instructs elders of the church to anoint and pray over any of us who are sick. A faithful prayer will heal the sick and He will forgive their sins. Sounds like our prayers can motivate God to forgive the sins of others. Does the sick one need to be repentant in addition to the prayer of others?" - There are several New Testament passages that point to our task of pronouncing the forgiveness of sin.  This is, I think, simply us speaking aloud the promised forgiveness from God, not us deciding who can and can't be forgiven.  Secondly, I think that James passage is a reminder that soul health is more important than physical health in mentioning the forgiveness of sin.  Thirdly, I do think the sick person needs to be in a right relationship with God.